We all know failure!
If a deployment for a critical service fails and negatively impacts
business partners and consumers that can not be good. One would have to consider why did this
happen? And even more critical is, why
does it happen more than once? There are times when failure can be viewed as
good. That of course is when we admit and then correct the reason or the cause
of that failure. Many organizations
struggle with a culture that fosters hiding failure. It is very difficult in this type of
stringent culture to be effective and even more difficult to be efficient and
innovative. Not being able to admit or
to discuss failure generally will lead to repeated and more disruptive
failure. What is a service provider
supposed to do? Do we fire individuals
who drop the ball and fail? If so, what
size of failure would instigate such an action?
Do we restrict staff from elements or areas of the value stream so that
their failure does not have the opportunity to impact us negatively again? Both of these seem very harsh. Even so this is the stance that some employers
take.
In order to optimize
outcomes for service providers, a shift to a culture that is safe for all
levels of management and staff will be required. A safe environment is one where individuals
feel free to speak up and are comfortable to express ideas. I think it boils down to respect. Having a culture where “respect” is at the
foreground would ensure that we value each individual for what they bring to
the table and it means that when mistakes are made leaders and staff alike are
very vocal about them. This means that
not only could they admit error or failure but could broadcast it out in such a
way as to omit repeat mistakes in the future.
A safe environment
requires high trust and a zeal for learning.
Learning comes from failure. Some
leaders will recognize teams or individuals that enable the organization to
learn from failure. Such awards send a
message about their values and that message helps instigate a cultural shift to
one that is safe. High-trust organizations encourage good
information flow, cross-functional collaboration, shared responsibilities,
learning from failures and new ideas. They
also empower people which enables them to move more quickly. They don’t have to
wait for someone else to make a decision or take action. Companies that really want to show their
commitment to success will continue to foster a high trust culture where
experimentation and learning are enabled.
They encourage freedom to fail and model how learning from failure can
lead to action. What could you do in
your organization to propagate a high trust environment where learning from
failure with openness and respect leads to success?
For more information: http://www.itsmacademy.com/brands/DevOps.html and http://www.itsmacademy.com/orgchange/
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